Steck focuses on labor and elder law, and he has been a member of the Albany County Legislature representing Colonie since 1999. They are running for a seat now held by Assemblyman Robert Reilly, who is retiring, though the district's boundaries and number are changing. It will cover Colonie, Niskayuna and part of Schenectady.

Whalen said she is focused on trimming costs.

"I am a person who wants to protect the taxpayer from reckless spending and perpetual tax increases," Whalen said. She has criticized Steck for voting to raise taxes 113 percent during his tenure in the county Legislature.

"We can't just keep coming back to the same well and the same wallets," she said.

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Debate schedule

The candidates are slated to debate at least two times: at 9:30 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 21, at Schenectady Jewish Community Center and at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 24, at the Black Box Theater at Schenectady High School. A third debate may be held Oct. 30 in Albany County.

Steck says Albany County has cut more than 700 positions during that time, and its taxes are the fifth-lowest in the state. Schenectady County taxes, he said, are higher.

"I'm extremely proud of that record," he said, adding of Whalen's criticism: "It shows a complete lack of understanding of county finances."

The fact that Albany County taxes are less than others doesn't change the fact they have been raised, Whalen replied.

"They should be going down, not up," she said.

She criticizes the cost of doing business in New York, government mandates and the decision by Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver to settle a harassment case against Assemblyman Vito Lopez by paying victims more than $100,000 in state funds.

During his primary bout, Steck, too, was critical of the state Legislature, describing his opponents who worked at the Assembly as "part of the problem." Now Steck says he plans to work with the Assembly majority and Gov. Andrew Cuomo, whom he calls "a strong leader."

"Everybody agrees that state government needs to be made better," he said. During the primary, Steck said coming from the community's grass roots better equipped him to make changes than someone already employed in the state Assembly.

At the same time, he said, he intends to work with other members of the Democratic majority.

"To be effective in making change, you have to work with the people in the majority," he said.

Steck also said that Whalen is running a negative campaign, a complaint that she dismissed.

"I am running a campaign based on the facts," she said. "If you raise taxes 113 percent, as he has done, a fact's a fact."

Steck also has charged that Whalen is opposed to increasing state aid to schools.

"She has taken a position against increased aid for schools. She thinks they have enough money," he said. "I disagree. We are laying off teachers left and right."

Whalen said she has never opposed additional state aid.

"I'm the daughter of two public schoolteachers," she said. "I never said I would oppose increased funding but I think we should cut the waste first."

Steck also claimed that Whalen favors allowing gun owners to carry concealed weapons without a permit, something he opposes.

Whalen said that isn't true. She opposes microstamping weapons and having to register ammunition, she said, but she has never advocated allowing anyone to carry a concealed weapon without a permit.

In a Project Vote Smart survey, Steck said, Whalen checked that she supported allowing individuals to carry concealed weapons. The question does not ask if they should be able to do so without a permit.

"I am not assuming anything," he said. "Those are her public positions."